


Power to Misconstrue

by Thalamus



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Cannibalism, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Empath!Will, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Pirates, Psychological Torture, Torture, blind!eye, captain!Will, defect!eye, pirate!Hannibal, prisoner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-07
Updated: 2013-08-07
Packaged: 2017-12-22 18:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/916384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thalamus/pseuds/Thalamus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future."<br/>David Mitchell</p>
            </blockquote>





	Power to Misconstrue

**Author's Note:**

> AN1: When I started writing this Au I knew little about ships and piracy except "Why is the rum gone?"  
> The extensive research was a pain in the...back.
> 
> Not beta'd. Please let me know if you find any mistakes :)
> 
>  
> 
> AN2: Thank you so much for the warm welcome to this fandom. You Fannibals are the best.  
> 

 

 

Hannibal closed his eyes a smile playing across his lips. The sun painted the inside of his lids with delicate crimson.

The smell of salt mingled lovingly with seaweed. It grounded him.

Despite the blue sky, he could feel the brewing storm. It was moving the water in sweet unrest, anouncing its arrival in great waves.

“What do you say?”

Ah, yes. Back to business matters.

Hannibal refocused his gaze on the impressive structure: The magnificent ship that was afloat on water in front of him.

Her body was shaped from jet black hardwood; she rocked in gruesome grace on the waves. Her obsidian towering sails fluttered in the wind, whispering softly tales of blood.

Franklyn stood to his right, fidgeting anxiously. Hannibal ignored him.

She would be a shadow at night, extending silently, descending on her unsuspecting victims before she devoured them.

He took a deep breath through his nose: A unique mixture of Mango, Sal and Teak wood greeted him.

“She is made of hardwood. She is robust, but damnably fast, one of the fastest out there. Hannibal, it is said that not even Black Joke can keep up with her let alone the marine ships from Impel Down.”

The figurehead, considered as the soul of the ship by many sailors, was carved of the same wood, just like the ship’s body . It was mounted to the bow, depicting a woman impaled on majestic stag antlers. 

“Tell me her name.”

“Sudden Death.”

Hannibal looked at Franklyn, pinned him down with his heterochromatic eyes.

Contentment filled him, warmed him from the inside as the rotund man winced in mortification, the sudden sour smell of fear a welcomed addition for Hannibal’s keen olfactory senses.

“I admit, the name’s not as elegant as _The Ravenstag_. But your last ship was unique. I doubt there will be any other like her. Shame you had to lose her.”

Upon realizing what he had just said, the man’s eyes widened. He laughed nervously, held up his hand.

“N-Not that I was implying that it was your fault because it wasn’t. I mean..ah…you were the captain when it sank but- but-” Franklyn tugged at his bandana, looking everywhere except at Hannibal, avoiding the maroon and white orbs.

Hannibal enjoyed every moment of the man’s squirming.

Franklyn gulped and met his eyes, smiling uneasily. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

“I-I didn't-”

“Tell me, where am I to find Abel Gideon today?”

Franklyn sagged in relief. His eyes brightened, ever so eager to please him.

“He is at the Wild Cherry, drinking himself into a stupor if I am not mistaken.”

Hannibal looked back at the ship, parting from her with the silent promise that soon she would belong to him.

“We shall conclude our business tonight. Meet me at Spiders Inn at 8 o’clock.”

“Certainly! It’s always a pleasure doing business with you, Hannibal. You are my…”

Hannibal dipped his head in a goodbye and stopped listening, brushing off the empty words; let them dissolve into white noise as he left the man behind, who was still ranting.

Hannibal had much work to do. And his time was running short.

Franklyn had surpassed his expectations, excelling in his task and leaving Hannibal quite satisfied. So Hannibal decided he would let him live, despite his misguided rudeness moments ago.

 

Hannibal made his way back from the pier, with his mind already three steps ahead, recalling names and faces of his-soon-to-be crew members.

 And that’s when the waft of a familiar scent hit him, halting his steps.

His right eye scanned the crowd in front of him. In the sea of pirates and mongers he searched for a long lost yet well-known face, for a mop of dark curly hair. 

The salty breeze caressed his face, taking away the fragrance of earth and wood he fervently tried to cling to.

 

 

Loguetown was a city on Dawn Islands, with the megalopolitan area covering the entire island it was on, save for a few steep hills.

It was a convenient location very close to Dead Man’s Reef, well hidden and a great distance away from Impel Down, the Maritime Security Main Quarters. Almost all ships, especially pirate ships passed through to stock up on supplies before they set off for the Deep Blue, the most famous of pirate waters.

However, Loguetown was also dreaded by pirates. In the past few years, it had morphed to a favorable hunting ground for bounty hunters and Marines.

The paltform in the town square was now an emblem of Impel Down's power. Many great and powerful pirates had been executed on that very platform.

 

Hannibal remained particularly alert for the remainder of the day, always taking the back alleys. Many times he went back and forth in meaningless circles.

It was a tedious business but an essential task nonetheless. He had to be certain he was not being followed.

He didn’t detect the familiar scent, didn’t come upon it again. Except for the brief moment earlier that day, it remained eerily absent.

He always relied on his sense of smell.

However, the unfamiliar weight of doubt sat heavily in his stomach, making him question the short-lived moment at the dock.

Hannibal entered Baggy's famous "Swordsman’s Shop", lost deeply in thought.

Had it been wishful thinking?

His finger pads ran over the scar tissue over his left brow. They followed the line of raised flesh across his eyelid, down to his left cheekbone.

He scanned the swords, his gaze coming to rest on a Spanish Rapier.

The memory of an encounter years past, yet so vivid; it filled his vision now, leaving behind the bitter taste of unfulfilled reveries.

He opened his left unseeing eye.

Yes, it had to be wishful thinking. After all, the evidence was painted on the left side of his face, the bold raised mark visible for everyone to see.

 

By the time he met Franklyn he had erased the possibility of being followed or found out.  

He also had won two new crew members: Abel Gideon who would be his navigator and Gerrett J. Hobbs who was to fill the position of the cook.

Yet Hannibal couldn’t shake off the sense of being unsettled.

He couldn’t shake off the feeling of being _watched_.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> "Sudden Death" is a famous Pirate ship, its Captain was named Derdrake  
> The "Black Joke" is also real, its Captain: Benito de Soto
> 
> The rest of the names/locations aren't real, I made most of them up, I MADE IT ALL UP! *Maniac cackle"  
> Excuse me, while I roll under Will's bed, joining Georgia Madchen and her madness.  
>  


End file.
